Philiscus of Aegina ( grc, Φιλίσκος Αἰγινήτης; fl. 4th century BC) was a
Cynic philosopher from
Aegina
Aegina (; el, Αίγινα, ''Aígina'' ; grc, Αἴγῑνα) is one of the Saronic Islands of Greece in the Saronic Gulf, from Athens. Tradition derives the name from Aegina (mythology), Aegina, the mother of the hero Aeacus, who was born ...
, who lived in the latter half of the 4th century BC. He was the son of
Onesicritus
Onesicritus ( el, Ὀνησίκριτος; c. 360 BC – c. 290 BC), a Greek historical writer and Cynic philosopher, who accompanied Alexander the Great on his campaigns in Asia. He claimed to have been the commander of Alexander's fleet but w ...
who sent Philiscus and his younger brother, Androsthenes, to
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
where they were so charmed by the philosophy of
Diogenes of Sinope
Diogenes ( ; grc, Διογένης, Diogénēs ), also known as Diogenes the Cynic (, ) or Diogenes of Sinope, was a Greek philosopher and one of the founders of Cynicism (philosophy). He was born in Sinope, an Ionian colony on the Black Sea ...
that Onesicritus also came to Athens and became his disciple. According to
Hermippus of Smyrna Hermippus of Smyrna ( el, Ἕρμιππος ὁ Σμυρναῖος) was a Greek grammarian and peripatetic philosopher, surnamed by the ancient writers the ''Callimachian'' ( el, ό Καλλιμάχειος), from which it may be inferred that he w ...
, Philiscus was the pupil of
Stilpo
Stilpo (or Stilpon; el, Στίλπων, gen.: Στίλπωνος; c. 360 – c. 280 BC) was a Greek philosopher of the Megarian school. He was a contemporary of Theophrastus, Diodorus Cronus, and Crates of Thebes. None of his writings survive, b ...
.
[''Suda'', "Philiskos", φ 359] He is also described as an associate of
Phocion
Phocion (; grc-gre, Φωκίων ''Phokion''; c. 402 – c. 318 BC; nicknamed The Good (''ὁ χρηστός'')) was an Athenian statesman and strategos, and the subject of one of Plutarch's ''Parallel Lives''.
Phocion was a successful politici ...
. The ''
Suda
The ''Suda'' or ''Souda'' (; grc-x-medieval, Σοῦδα, Soûda; la, Suidae Lexicon) is a large 10th-century Byzantine encyclopedia of the ancient Mediterranean world, formerly attributed to an author called Soudas (Σούδας) or Souidas ...
'' claims that he was a teacher of
Alexander the Great
Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...
, but no other ancient writer mentions this.
Aelian Aelian or Aelianus may refer to:
* Aelianus Tacticus, Greek military writer of the 2nd century, who lived in Rome
* Casperius Aelianus, Praetorian Prefect, executed by Trajan
* Claudius Aelianus, Roman writer, teacher and historian of the 3rd centu ...
, though, has preserved a short exhortation by Philiscus addressed to Alexander:
Take care of your reputation; don't become a plague or a great disaster, bring peace and health.
The ''Suda'' mentions that Philiscus wrote dialogues including one called ''
Codrus
Codrus (; ; Greek: , ''Kódros'') was the last of the semi-mythical Kings of Athens (r. ca 1089– 1068 BC). He was an ancient exemplar of patriotism and self-sacrifice. He was succeeded by his son Medon, who it is claimed ruled not as king but ...
''.
Satyrus claimed that the
tragedies
Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy ...
ascribed to Diogenes were, in fact, written by Philiscus. Among the
dialogue
Dialogue (sometimes spelled dialog in American English) is a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people, and a literary and theatrical form that depicts such an exchange. As a philosophical or didactic device, it is c ...
s ascribed to Diogenes by
Sotion
Sotion of Alexandria ( grc-gre, Σωτίων, ''gen''.: Σωτίωνος; fl. c. 200 – 170 BC) was a Greek doxographer and biographer, and an important source for Diogenes Laërtius. None of his works survive; they are known only indirectly. ...
, one is entitled ''Philiscus''.
[Diogenes Laërtius, vi. 80]
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Philiscus Of Aegina
4th-century BC Greek people
4th-century BC philosophers
Ancient Aeginetans
Classical Greek philosophers
Cynic philosophers
Philosophers and tutors of Alexander the Great